Head of Corporate Solutions Architecture Full Time

Chanel, Inc.
Head of Corporate Solutions Architecture page is loaded Head of Corporate Solutions Architecture Apply locations London time type Full time posted on Posted 30+ Days Ago job requisition id JOBREQ Job Purpose

The Head of Corporate Solutions Architecture provides the necessary leadership, analysis and design tasks related to support the development and evolution of technology solutions to ensure that solutions meet business needs and align with architectural governance and standards.

The role holder is the:

• Co-custodian of the overall Corporate Solutions blueprint – in partnership with other Corporate Solutions Domain specific architects (e.g. D365, Data, Automation) – and ensures best practices are followed to ensure relevance, security, conformity and sustainability.
• Key custodian of the specific blueprint covering Corporate Solutions domains without dedicated Solutions Architects, i.e. Finance, People&Organisation, Sustainability, Legal, etc.

The role holder creates deliverables for managing the portfolio of “to be” and “as is” solutions – including ensuring a cohesive functional and technical documentation of the Corporate Solutions systems and components across the domains. This can include technical documentation about the Integration principles and mechanisms used to connect systems, but also functional documentation of the applications to have a full picture of the systems features coverage, architecture and process mapping.

The role holder will animate the community of Corporate Solutions architects, and will work with this community, the Enterprise Architecture team, and others Solutions domains’ architects, in all entities to define technology standards and ensure they are applied in the region.

The role holder de-risks architecture choices by working with internal and external teams to keep the overall architecture on a course that is maintainable and scalable, across the corporate solutions landscape in close collaboration with the respective Corporate Solution Domain Architects.

The role holder will help to define and strengthen the way the systems are working from a Data, Interfaces and Features points of view specifically for the systems related to these domains: People, Sustainability, Legal, Real Estate, Store Design. This can be extended to other Corporate Solutions domains. In ther capacity, the architect will contribute to deliver new capabilities and enhancements for existing systems but also for the future systems built in CHANEL (global, regional or local initiatives implemented in Asia Pacific).

Data consistency and integration being one of the pre-requisites to have effective systems used by the Business, the solution architect will focus on elevating the level of data accuracy, alignment and integration between systems. The role holder will work with Corporate Solutions Domain Architects, Program teams and vendors to introduce the necessary changes to improve the data model and integration overall. The role holder will also develop testing strategies to ensure that the changes provide the expected results.

The role holder will also partner with the Global Integration team to insure full alignment and smooth delivery.

This role requires an overall understanding of Corporate Solutions domains, a good grasp of the challenges faced by these domains, and the capacity to identify how to build the right systems and experience for CHANEL. The role has the credibility and social / communication skills to build the right dialog with teams across Global/ Regional/ Divisional IT, business and vendors.

Key Responsibilities

Solution Architecture Blueprinting

• Translates business and technical requirements into an architectural blueprint to achieve business objectives and documents all solution architecture design and analysis work for Corporate Solutions domains without dedicated Solutions/ Applications Architect
• Works closely with the product owners and relevant business system managers to ensure a robust architectural runway that can support future business requirements throughout the product lifecycle
• Understands business drivers and business capabilities (future and current state) and determines corresponding enterprise solution designs and change requirements to drive the organization’s targeted business outcomes
• Support the program teams in formalizing the business process in alignment with system designs (system rules and configuration, features and processes description)
• For Corporate Solutions domains with specific Solutions/ Applications Architects, support/ advise them to apply the same blueprinting approach.

Solution/ Technology Assessment

• Technical Risk Management
  • Monitors the current-state solution portfolio to identify deficiencies through aging of the technologies used by the application, or misalignment with business requirements
  • Supports business systems managers in end of life product decisions to maintain, refresh or retire services, or systems, including applications, technologies, processes, and information
  • Preparing, performing or analyzing technical audits
• Reviewing and validating technical design and estimates proposed by vendors (e.g. during a solution selection/ RFP process), and challenge when necessary
• Understands emerging technology trends and disruptions and their practical application to enable new and evolving business and operating models; determines their potential implications. (stretch)
• Facilitates the evaluation and selection of software product standards and services, as well as the design of standard and custom software configurations.
• Consults with application and infrastructure development projects and products to fit systems or infrastructure to architecture and identify when it is necessary to modify designs to accommodate the solutions architecture
• For Corporate Solutions domains with specific Solutions/ Applications Architects, support/ advise them to apply the same technology assessment approach and principles.

Solution Architecture/ Delivery

• Leads evaluation, design and analysis for the implementation of a solutions architecture based on enterprise business strategy, business capabilities, value-streams, business requirements and enterprise standards across Corporate Solutions domains
• Co-creating and validating designs, then supporting implementation and deployment of solutions from a technical standpoint,
• Being responsible for the detailed solution architecture artifacts and documentation that result from the analysis of technologies and design of solutions for the Corporate Solutions domains without dedicated Solutions Architects.
• Data integration & consistency
  • Audit the level of data accuracy and consistency in the systems and propose actions and mechanisms to address the pain points
  • Provide guidance to the program team to develop strategies in order to main the right level of data alignment over time
  • Acts as a partner/ advisor to the domain teams and domain-specific solution architects to recommend relevant data integration approaches and solutions to meet current and future needs. Ensure these integration approaches/ solutions are future-proof and does not create technical debt.
• Support the execution of build, test and deployment phases of projects within the Corporate Solutions domains with no dedicated Applications/ Solutions Architects – to ensure solutions are implemented in alignment with architecture principles.
• Ensures solutions designed include consideration for how the solutions will be operated and supported in a a robust, practical and sustainable way (optimizing maintenance, support and technology evolution activities)

Provide Architecture Guidance/ Advisory

• Provides deliverables like standard definitions, reference models and architecture designs to support architectural governance to assess the impact of new and ongoing technology investment on the business and IT estate
• Designs and directs the governance activities associated with ensuring solutions architecture assurance and compliance – including the setup of required stage-gates/ governance reviews on Solutions Architecture across Corporate Solutions domains.
• Proposes the principles, guidelines, standards, and solution patterns to ensure solution decisions are aligned with the vision and principles of overall Enterprise Architecture, Global Corporate Solutions and are adapted/ relevant to the specific Corporate Solutions domain as well as regional/ market context.
• Support the program teams to develop business cases, formulate plans, estimate resources and identify timing for execution – specifically for Corporate Solutions domains without a dedicated application/ solutions architect.
• Animates the Community of Practice across Corporate Solutions Domain Architects. Elevate maturity of technical colleagues by introducing long-term architecture and solution design mindset
• Advises on release management processes and defining deployment alternatives and their impacts
• Co-creates Corporate Solutions Testing strategy with Domain-specific Corporate Solutions Architects including the test environment policy/ setup. Reviews/ validates test plans/ strategy, design, implementation and execution to support the relevant domains’ programs/ projects.

Academic / Professional Qualifications

Mandatory

• Undergraduate Degree in Engineering, Computer Science . click apply for full job details